The Christmas hamper rip-off: How a festive hamper costing £100 can be picked up for just £43.25 in store

Shoppers at Britain's high-end supermarkets are being hit by huge mark-ups on speciality Christmas hampers that are more than double the value of their contents.

This is Money research found that Marks and Spencer and Waitrose customers are paying way over the odds when they purchase festive hampers, compared to what they would pay if they bought the items in store or online.

The contents of M&S's Christmas Selection cost just £43.25 in store, yet customers are charged £100 if they buy the gift hamper. Meanwhile, items in Waitrose's Wonder of Christmas hamper, which also costs £100, can be found online for just £46.51.

Convenience? M&S's British Beer Gift costs £30, but the contents can be picked up in store for just under £15.

Christmas catch: This Waitrose Wonder of Christmas hamper costs £100, but the food and drink can be picked up online for £46.51.

In both instances the hampers come in a wicker basket or box - but shoppers who want to present the Christmas goodies they have bought can pick up baskets online at prices ranging from £4.99 to about £20.

When asked to explain the gulf between buying a hamper and picking up items individually, an M&S spokesperson sent the following comment: 'Our Christmas hampers are perfect for
those who want to send a gift to a loved one and don’t have time to
shop; they’re put together by hand and delivered in a pretty wicker
hamper or box, ready to enjoy.'

Waitrose provided more explanation, arguing that the cost included the 'high quality hamper or box' its gift selections come in, as well as pointing out there is a 3 for 2 promotion on hampers in its stores and that it has recently run discounts online.

Waitrose also had a 20 per cent discount offer which ended on Monday.

A spokesperson added: 'Our hampers offer good value for money
and are very popular with our shoppers - the price reflects the amount
of effort that has gone in to carefully selecting, packing and
presenting the products to make a perfect, ready-made gift.

'It also takes into account the high
quality hamper or box which the gifts are presented in, which of course
can be used again afterwards.'

M&S's hampers and gifts catalogue
offers products which range in price from £15 for a luxury gift box of
Belgian chocolates, to The Ultimate Christmas hamper which costs a
whopping £1,000; while Waitrose offers hampers costing up to £400.

Like Waitrose, M&S is also running offers on some of its hampers, with 25 per cent off a selection including its Festive Cheer hamper, which is currently £22.50 online at the moment down from £30 (total cost of contents, £20.53).

Mark-up and Spencer: Buying goods in-store rather than as part of a hamper will avoid big premiums.

Not all hampers from the two retailers come with a 'pretty wicker basket', others come in wooden trays or boxes.

And delivery is not factored into the price, as M&S and Waitrose offer free delivery on purchases over £20 and £30 respectively.

The £30 M&S British Beer Gift selection currently has a 'one star' rating on Marks and Spencer's own website, and This is Money found the items could be picked up in store for £14.65, or £16.94 with two extra bottles of beer under a 6 for 5 deal.

One commenter said on the M&S website said: 'I was expecting this to be a gift-boxed
hamper.

Waitrose: Items bought separately online were far cheaper than buying them as part of a hamper from Waitrose.com or Waitrose Direct.

'Instead, it is simply 4 bottles, a tub of nuts and a box of
cheese straws in a plain cardboard postage box.

'Not a festive piece of
wrapping in sight. More like an online food delivery than a hamper gift.
What a disappointment.'

Morrisons and Sainsbury's have said they are not offering Christmas hampers this year, with Sainsbury's only offering cheese gift sets for £10.

Asda offers 'local hampers', which are made-up hampers that vary from store to store and comprise of local produce such as cheeses, beers, chutneys and biscuits, for £10.

Tesco offers one hamper - the Tinsel Time Christmas Hamper - but it is just sold through Tesco having been produced by Clearwater Hampers.

Build your own hamper and dodge the festive rip-off

This is Money says: While
a hamper from one of these two stores may be a very attractive option
to give as a gift this Christmas, in all likelihood you are not going to
be getting much bang for your buck.

Yes Christmas can be a fraught time and with free delivery provided with most hampers at M&S and Waitrose, there is something to be said for the convenience, but would you pay more than £50 out of £100 for convenience?

For only a little added effort the goods can be ordered separately online for collection in-store (M&S) or delivery for a small charge (Waitrose), which is much cheaper than paying the premium of having them delivered as hampers to your door.

Alternatively, for those of you who have spare time to actually shop for the items, it took us about 15 minutes to find all the items in the M&S Christmas Selection hamper in store.

The retailers have pointed to the fact that their bigger hampers come with a 'pretty' baskets, with the smaller ones in boxes, but a quick search online throws up plenty of reasonably priced containers that won't break the bank.

Alternatively, a cardboard box, crepe paper, soft fabric and some tinsel should do the trick!

* As not
all exact items in the hamper are available via Waitrose or Ocado, the prices have been taken from speciality hamper suppler YourHamper, which counts Waitrose and John Lewis among its customers.